Indigenous Navigator: Innovating Indigenous Education through the Small Grants Facility
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JULY 2021
Indigenous Navigator:
Innovating Indigenous Education
through the Small Grants Facility
INDIGENOUS
NAVIGATOR
Magar community members
at a primary school meeting in
Naumule, Nepal, deciding on their
mother-tongue education.
CREDIT: LAHURNIP
“The results of the Indigenous Navigator’s community tool that we
applied in Capalagan, Davao Oriental, revealed that their language
was vulnerable. Based on those results, the leaders decided to
revitalise their language to preserve their identity and propagate
its use among the children and youth. The Indigenous Navigator
allowed us to connect with language experts and development
workers to unify one Mandaya orthography for its use in Indigenous
Peoples’ education, and to have the Department of Education
come on board and adopt the output later.”
BERNICE SEE - PROJECT COORDINATOR, TEBTEBBA, THE PHILIPPINES.
Acknowledgements
The Indigenous Navigator operates with funding from the European Union (EU). The report was written by Romina Quezada
Morales,1 with support from IWGIA’s Indigenous Navigator project coordinators Ena Alvarado Madsen and David Nathaniel
Berger. Tables 1 and 4 to 9 were made by Romina Quezada Morales. Figures 1, 2 and 3 were made by Romina Quezada
Morales using Indigenous Navigator figures previously made by Pedro Cayul, a consultant to the Indigenous Navigator
project. Tables 2 and 3 were made by Pedro Cayul.
Cover photograph: Young Wampis woman writing in Peru’s rainforest. Credit: Pablo Lasanky / IWGIA
Author: Romina Quezada Morales
Editors: Ena Alvarado Madsen & David Nathaniel Berger
Design & layout: www.nickpurserdesign.com
HURIDOCS CIP DATA
Title: Indigenous Navigator: Innovating Indigenous Education through the Small Grants Facility
Publisher: The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
Number of pages: 40
Language: English
Geographical area: Latin America, Africa, Asia
Date of publication: July 2021
ISBN: 978-87-93961-33-3
All statements of fact, analysis or opinion in this report are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect the official positions or views of
the European Union.
The reproduction and distribution of information contained in this report is welcome for non-commercial purposes as long as the source is
cited. However, the reproduction of the full report without the consent of IWGIA and the Indigenous Navigator is not allowed.
© The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), 2021. All rights reserved.
INDIGENOUS Funded
by the
NAVIGATOR European
Union
1. Romina Quezada Morales is a doctoral student in International Comparative Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her current research
analyses the components of successful Indigenous participation in education politics at the international level, with a focus on Latin America. Romina
is also the Rapporteur of the Indigenous Studies Seminar and Assistant to the 2021 Indigenous Peoples Rights and Policy Summer Program, both at
Columbia University, as well as Secretary of the Indigenous Knowledge and the Academy Special Interest Group at the Comparative and International
Education Society.
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 3
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3
LIST OF ACRONYMS 5
LIST OF TABLES 7
LIST OF FIGURES 7
INTRODUCTION - IS EDUCATION A RELEVANT TOPIC FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES? 8
1. EDUCATION IN THE INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR 12
1.1. What frames education within the Indigenous Navigator? 12
1.2. What do the Indigenous Navigator data say about Indigenous education? 14
1.3. How does the Indigenous Navigator transform the data collected into action? 18
TRENDS: Effects of COVID-19 on Indigenous education and community responses 21
2. INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 22
2.1. Minimising obstacles to quality education access without discrimination 22
2.2. Developing bilingual and intercultural teaching materials and methods based on
indigenous knowledge, practices and technologies 24
TRENDS: Intercultural bilingual education in Latin America 28
2.3. Updating the skills and knowledge of Indigenous teachers 28
2.4. Increasing intergenerational knowledge transfer from Indigenous elders to youth 30
TRENDS: Towards the 2022-2032 International Decade of Indigenous Languages 32
2.5. Engaging with governments for recognition and official use of Indigenous languages 33
TRENDS: Towards an “inclusive, sustainable and resilient future” 36
CONCLUSION 37
4 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY
LIST OF ACRONYMS
AIPP: Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact
ALAPA: Association for Law and Advocacy for Pastoralists
BJHS: Bangladesh Jatiya Hajong Sangathon (Bangladesh National Hajong Organization)
CAT: Convention against Torture
CEB: United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination
CECOIN: Centro de Cooperación al Indígena
CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CEJIS: Centro de Estudios Jurídicos e Investigación Social
CENDA: Centro de Comunicación y Desarrollo Andino
CICOL: Central Indígena de Comunidades Originarias de Lomerío
CIPO: Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organisation
CIYA: Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association
COVID-19: Corona Virus Disease 19
CRC: Convention on the Rights of the Child
DCC-NEFIN: District Coordination Council of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities
EC: European Commission
ECOSOC: Economic and Social Council
EU: European Union
FPIC: Free, Prior and Informed Consent
FPP: Forest Peoples Programme
GTANW: Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís
HLPF: High-Level Political Forum
IASG: Inter-Agency Support Group
ICCPR: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICERD: International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
ICESCR: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
ILEPA: Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners
ILO: International Labour Organisation
IPDS: Indigenous Peoples Development Services
IPELC: Instituto Plurinacional de Estudio de Lengua y Cultura
IPMG: Indigenous Peoples Major Group
IWGIA: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
LAHURNIP: Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples
LTMKCA: Limpong na Tutong ng Mandaya na Kabubayan sang Calapagan na Asosasyon (Association
of True Mandaya Women of Calapagan)
MPIDO: Mainyoito Pastoralist Integrated Development Organisation
MDG: Millennium Development Goal
NCA: Nepal Chhantyal Association
OHCHR: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
ONAMIAP: Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del Perú
ONIC: Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia
PINGO’s
Forum: Pastoralists Indigenous NGO´s Forum
PROEIB
(Andes): Programa de Formación en Educación Intercultural Bilingüe para los Países Andinos
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 5
SDG: Sustainable Development Goal
SOWIP: State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
SWAP: System-Wide Action Plan
UDHR: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UN: United Nations
UNDESA: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UNDRIP: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNGA: United Nations General Assembly
UNPFII: United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
VIDS: Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden in Suriname (Association of Indigenous Village
Leaders in Suriname)
WIDE: World Inequality Database on Education
6 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1. Synthesis of the three axes upon which the Indigenous Navigator is based, for education 14
TABLE 2. Results of the Indigenous Navigator’s survey question “how accessible are primary
school facilities in your community?” 17
TABLE 3. Access per facilities in educational establishments according to the Indigenous Navigator’s
survey results 18
TABLE 4. Matrix of the Indigenous Navigator’s small grants facility pilot projects related to education
with the small grants facility’s Indigenous priorities in education 20
TABLE 5. Pilot project priorities of the Indigenous communities that took part in the Indigenous
Navigator’s surveys in addressing and minimising obstacles in Indigenous communities’
access to quality primary and secondary education, as well as adult literacy programmes,
without discrimination 23
TABLE 6. Pilot project priorities of the Indigenous communities that took part in the Indigenous Navigator’s
surveys in developing bilingual and intercultural teaching materials and methods based on
Indigenous knowledge, practices and technologies for use in schools and in community training 25
TABLE 7. Pilot project priorities of the Indigenous communities that took part in the Indigenous
Navigator’s surveys in updating the skills and knowledge of Indigenous teachers 29
TABLE 8. Pilot project priorities of the Indigenous communities that took part in the Indigenous
Navigator’s surveys in increasing intergenerational knowledge transfer from Indigenous
elders to youth 31
TABLE 9. Pilot project priorities of the Indigenous communities that took part in the Indigenous
Navigator’s surveys in engaging in dialogue with governments for recognition and use of
Indigenous languages as official languages in schools and other public institutions 33
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1. Percentage of completed primary education of the communities that participated in the
Indigenous Navigator’s survey in comparison with the national average 15
FIGURE 2. Percentage of completed secondary education of the communities that participated in the
Indigenous Navigator’s survey in comparison with the national average 16
FIGURE 3. Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education of the communities that
participated in the Indigenous Navigator’s survey in comparison with the national average 16
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 7Students and teachers inside a
Khasi language centre classroom
in Bangladesh.
CREDIT: KAPAEENG FOUNDATION
INTRODUCTION
IS EDUCATION A RELEVANT TOPIC FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES?
This report presents the real-life experiences of Indigenous Peoples as they implement pilot projects
that address educational needs identified by themselves through the Indigenous Navigator’s small grants
facility. It shows how the Indigenous Navigator framework was used to create a data collection tool to
monitor progress towards the fulfilment of Indigenous peoples’ rights and the global goals –the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)– and how, based on those data and with financial and technical assistance
from the small grants facility, Indigenous communities came up with project proposals that they are
carrying out to improve their wellbeing.
The Indigenous Navigator is an initiative founded by an international partner consortium: Asia Indigenous
Peoples Pact (AIPP), the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), the
International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research
and Education (Tebtebba Foundation), and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA).
The Indigenous Navigator is supported by the European Union (EU). Since 2017, the Indigenous Navigator
consortium, along with local partners in 11 countries2 worldwide, have been supporting Indigenous
2. Kapaeeng Foundation, from Bangladesh; Centro de Estudios Jurídicos e Investigación Social (CEJIS), from Bolivia; Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organization
(CIPO), from Cambodia; Association OKANI, from Cameroon; Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia (ONIC) and Centro de Cooperación al Indígena
(CECOIN), from Colombia; Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO) and Indigenous Livelihoods Enhancement Partners (ILEPA),
from Kenya; Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP), from Nepal; Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas
Andinas y Amazónicas del Perú (ONAMIAP) and Perú Equidad – Centro de Políticas Públicas y Derechos Humanos, from Peru; Indigenous Peoples’
International Centre for Policy Research and Education (Tebtebba Foundation), from the Philippines; Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname
(Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden in Suriname – VIDS), from Suriname; Association for Law and Advocacy for Pastoralists (ALAPA) and Pastoralists
Indigenous Non-Governmental Organization’s Forum (PINGO’s Forum), from Tanzania.
8 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITYcommunities’ in their struggles to have their rights fully recognized and respected. The Indigenous Navigator
comprises an online portal and a set of assessment tools developed for, and by, Indigenous Peoples to aid
the monitoring, implementation and realisation of Indigenous peoples’ rights. The Indigenous Navigator’s
tools, developed with Indigenous Peoples, monitor the implementation of their collective rights. The
community-generated data are open and available through the Indigenous Navigator’s online portal.3
Indigenous communities and the Indigenous Navigator’s partners were able to analyse the results of 146
validated community surveys (conducted between 2017 and 2019), which led to the creation of 57 data
driven, community led pilot projects based on their own priorities and integrated into the small grants
facility. Financed by the European Commission (EC), the small grants facility has approved projects that
tackle issues ranging from self-determination to citizenship to cultural integrity, among many others.4
This report focuses on how the Indigenous Navigator’s small grants facility is supporting innovative
solutions to improve Indigenous education. Education is the central topic of this work because of the
place education holds in the preservation of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, language and culture. These
are topics that the Indigenous Navigators’ small grants facility helps Indigenous communities tackle,
contributing in this way to existing and upcoming Indigenous projects at the local, national, regional and
global levels. Out of the 57 pilot projects that the Indigenous Navigator’s small grants facility finances, 14
are directly related to education, out of which about two thirds involve language teaching or revitalisation.
The pilot projects minimise discrimination by increasing access to education, offer new culturally-relevant
teaching materials for bilingual and intercultural teaching, help further the professional development
and inclusion of Indigenous teachers, facilitate knowledge transfer between Indigenous elders and their
communities, and foster the recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights regarding the use of Indigenous
languages in educational systems.
This document is divided into two parts. The information presented in part 1 is based on the results
from the Indigenous Navigator’s data collection process and contextualises the small grants facility,
while the analysis in part 2 draws on inedited pilot project submissions, progress reports and personal
communications with partnering organisations about the projects. The document analysis includes 14
pilot projects from 10 out of 11 countries participating in the initiative: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Suriname and Tanzania. In addition, this report features
four Trends sections, which complement the context(s) of Indigenous education and connect the pilot
projects to national, regional and global realities and perspectives. Indigenous Peoples have been involved
in planning the 2022-2032 International Decade of Indigenous Languages and in encouraging coherence
among international institutions towards the fulfilment of their human rights. The former is at the core of
including Indigenous languages in national education systems and studying them at the same level as
dominant languages, while the latter is likely to improve Indigenous education policy worldwide.
The Indigenous Navigator’s small grants facility pilot phase intended to take place in 2019 and 2020.
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, some of the pilot projects are still in progress in 2021. The existing
results, however, indicate that the pilot projects have transformed major educational issues into real local
improvements which are making their way to other localities and other levels. Local, regional and national
authorities have shown interest in some of them, and milestones for communities have been achieved
regarding language revitalisation.
When the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) was created in 2000,5 Indigenous
representatives urged the United Nations (UN) to issue reports that reflected the global situation and
3. Romina Quezada Morales, Dialogue and Self-Determination through the Indigenous Navigator (Copenhagen, DK: International Work Group for Indigenous
Affairs, 2021), accessed 27 March 2021, https://www.iwgia.org/en/resources/publications/3990-dialogues-in-iwgia.html
4. Ena Alvarado Madsen and David Nathaniel Berger, Implementing the Indigenous Navigator: Experiences Around the Globe (Copenhagen, DK: International
Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2020), accessed 26 October, 2020, https://nav.indigenousnavigator.com/images/documents-english/Reports/
Reports2020/Implemeting_the_indigenous_navigator.pdf
5. Economic and Social Council, “Establishment of a Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues” (New York: United Nations, 2000).
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 9priorities of Indigenous Peoples.6 With that in mind, the United Nations Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (UNDESA) has been issuing, since 2009, the report State of the Word’s Indigenous Peoples
(SOWIP). The first issue provided an overall view of selected topics which were considered priorities by
Indigenous Peoples. Chapter IV was devoted to education, discussing how it is a human right, and how
Indigenous Peoples were not achieving the same access to quality education as their non-Indigenous
peers worldwide.7 This first SOWIP edition was released close to the end of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG), the first global agenda for development issued in 2000 and which foresaw, among others,
equal access to primary education by 2015.8 SOWIP’s chapter on education matched the final results of
the MDGs in education: while there were huge improvements in access worldwide by 2015, Indigenous
Peoples still faced more challenges due to the limitations that national systems had to provide culturally
and linguistically relevant basic education for them.9
In 2015, the MDGs were replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).10 Among them, SDG 4
aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for
all”.11 SDG 4 has seven targets, one of which (target 4.5) specifically mentions Indigenous Peoples: “by
2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and
vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children
in vulnerable situations”.12 Aware of SDG 4 and target 4.5, UNDESA’s third edition of SOWIP was completely
devoted to education.13 The third SOWIP report explores each Indigenous region of the world and follows
up on what the first SOWIP stated.
Global efforts and initiatives on Indigenous education show that education remains a critical priority for
Indigenous Peoples. Yet, as SOWIP indicates, there are other more urgent issues that Indigenous Peoples
must solve, such as health (SOWIP’s second volume), poverty, or the environment, including land rights.14
To this regard, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) followed up with a report on how Indigenous
Peoples have been seeking social justice and equity to be able to become self-sustainable. Although
education is not a main topic in the report, the ILO’s report is important in relation to the theme, because
the path towards social justice, equity, and the full enforcement of the right to education for Indigenous
Peoples is marked by these issues.15
Indigenous Peoples are actively tracking their situation on education, but more, they are also actively
involved in international processes related to education. To name a few examples, the UNPFII supported
the issuing of SOWIP and its third volume on education; Indigenous Peoples have continued to advocate
and work consistently to successfully achieve their explicit mention in the SDGs; a current point in the
Indigenous agenda is to create disaggregated data on education that allow the monitoring of their situation
and feed the SDGs. In 2008, Tebtebba Foundation issued a compilation of reports from international
meetings where Indigenous Peoples discussed how they envisioned the monitoring of their human rights.
6. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), “State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, First Volume” (September 8, 2009), accessed
16 January, 2021, https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/publications/2009/09/state-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples-first-volume/
7. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (New York: United Nations, 2009), accessed
16 January, 2021, https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/SOWIP/en/SOWIP_web.pdf
8. United Nations, “Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education”, accessed on 16 January, 2021, https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/education.shtml
9. UNESCO, Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges (Paris, France: UNESCO, 2015), accessed 16 January, 2021,
https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/EFA%20Global%20Monitoring%20Report%202015.pdf
10. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), “Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (2015), accessed 14 January, 2021, https://
www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_70_1_E.pdf
11. Idem.
12. Idem.
13. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Education. (New York: United Nations,
2008), accessed 16 January, 2021, https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2017/12/State-of-Worlds-
Indigenous-Peoples_III_WEB2018.pdf
14. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (New York: United Nations, 2009), accessed
16 January, 2021, https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/SOWIP/en/SOWIP_web.pdf; United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UNDESA), State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Health. (New York: United Nations, 2014), accessed January 16, 2021, https://www.un.org/
development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/03/The-State-of-The-Worlds-Indigenous-Peoples-WEB.pdf
15. International Labour Organisation (ILO), Implementing the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169. Towards an inclusive, sustainable
and just future (Geneva, Switzerland: ILO, 2019), accessed 17 January, 2021, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/
documents/publication/wcms_735607.pdf
10 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITYEducation was a recurrent theme in the discussions, usually accompanied by cultural integrity, as well as
language preservation and revitalisation.16
More recently, in 2016, the UNPFII issued a Backgrounder on the SDGs which specifies that the 2030
Agenda for Development mentions Indigenous Peoples six times, one of which is SDG 4.17 However, the
Backgrounder also identifies how the Agenda oversees collective Indigenous peoples’ rights –especially
their right to develop their own educational systems–, cultural sensitivity in education, national data
disaggregation, and cooperation with member states to make progress towards achieving SDG 4.18 In 2019,
the Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG) issued a position paper for the High Level Political Forum
(HLPF) on the SDGs where discrimination against rural Indigenous children in terms of their access to
education, lack of use of Indigenous mother tongues for teaching, devaluation of traditional Indigenous
knowledge, lack of culturally sensitive curricula, and geographic and financial challenges to pursue higher
education were identified as obstacles to achieve SDG 4.19 All in all, education is more than a relevant
issue to Indigenous Peoples, but they still struggle to improve it.
16. Tebtebba Foundation, Indicators Relevant for Indigenous Peoples: A Resource Book (Manila, Philippines: Tebtebba Foundation, 2008).
17. United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), “Indigenous Peoples and the 2030 Agenda Backgrounder” (2016), accessed 12 January,
2021, https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2016/08/Indigenous-Peoples-and-the-2030-Agenda.pdf
18. Idem.
19. Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG), “High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development 2019, Statement of the Indigenous Peoples Major
Group (IPMG), GOAL 4: Quality Education for All”, accessed 14 January, 2021, https://www.indigenouspeoples-sdg.org/index.php/english/all-resources/
ipmg-position-papers-and-publications/ipmg-statements-and-interventions/120-hlpf2019-statement-of-the-indigenous-peoples-major-group-goal-4-
quality-education-for-all/file
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 11Meeting with community
representatives in Hollandse Kamp,
Suriname, to discuss the foundations
and goals of the pilot projects.
CREDIT: VIDS
1. EDUCATION IN THE
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR
1.1 WHAT FRAMES EDUCATION WITHIN THE INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR?
As the Special Rapporteur on the right to education Ms. Koumbou Boly Barry has repeatedly stated,
education is a human right.20 Indeed, several international law documents declare that education is a
right for all.21 Indigenous individuals are entitled to the same human rights and fundamental freedoms
as non-Indigenous individuals. However, Indigenous Peoples, when seen as collectives, are holders of
rights that apply to their contextual circumstances as peoples who seek to exercise their human rights
and fundamental freedoms.22 Indigenous Peoples have thus individual education rights, and collective
education rights.
Other international law documents specifically protect Indigenous Peoples’ right to education. One of them
is the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169, commonly known as the ILO 169, which states
in Article 7, paragraph 2, that “the improvement of the conditions of life and work and levels of health and
education of the peoples concerned, with their participation and cooperation, shall be a matter of priority
in plans for the overall economic development of areas they inhibit”.23 More precisely, Articles 26 to 31 of
the ILO 169 go about each right to education as an individual and a collective right: education programmes
and services should be created and implemented with Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous children should be
20. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education” (2017), accessed 5 November, 2020, https://
documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N17/303/24/PDF/N1730324.pdf?OpenElement
21. Idem. The Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education mentions the Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960), the Declaration
on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (1993) (Art. 4), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
(1948) (Art. 26), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (1960) (Art. 13), the Declaration on the Rights of the Child
(1959) (Art. 29), and the UNESCO Constitution (1945).
22. International Labour Organisation (ILO), Understanding the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, No. 169 (Geneva, Switzerland: ILO, 2013),
accessed 11 January, 2021, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---normes/documents/publication/wcms_205225.pdf
23. International Labour Organisation (ILO), “Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169)”, accessed 19 January, 2021, https://www.ilo.org/dyn/
normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C169
12 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITYable to learn their own Indigenous language, and national education should be able to provide Indigenous
students with educational opportunities similar to those of non-Indigenous students.24
The Indigenous Navigator’s framework mobilises the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UNDRIP) and the SDGs to provide a set of tools and indicators that collect Indigenous data, which
in turn monitor the implementation of both the UNDRIP and the SDGs. The UNDRIP, which has the ILO 169
as one of its background documents,25 talks about the right of Indigenous Peoples to education in Articles
14 and 15.26 Article 14 protects both the collective right of Indigenous Peoples to create and manage their
educational institutions and the methods and languages used in them, as well as the individual right of
Indigenous Peoples to access all levels of national education. Article 15 protects Indigenous Peoples’ right
to have their cultures reflected in national education.27
While the ILO 169 and the UNDRIP foresee that states shall ensure the fulfilment of Indigenous Peoples’
rights related to education, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims at ensuring
“inclusive and equitable quality education and promot[ing] lifelong learning opportunities for all”.28 As
mentioned in the introduction, this is SDG 4, one of 17 SDGs that compose the Agenda, and the one
specifically related to education.29 In particular, SDG 4.5 targets Indigenous Peoples by seeking to, “by
2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and
vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children
in vulnerable situations”.30 However, the Indigenous Navigator also collects data on proficiency in reading
and mathematics (SDG 4.1.1), participation in pre-primary and primary education (SDG 4.2.2), and inclusive
and safe schools (SDG 4.A.1).31
Last, the Indigenous Navigator helps monitor the outcomes of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples
(WCIP).32 The Conference took place in 2014, and the outcome document presents the commitments made
by states to support and enforce Indigenous peoples’ rights.33 Paragraph 11 of the document reads: “we
commit ourselves to ensuring equal access to high-quality education that recognises the diversity of the
cultures of indigenous peoples”.34 Summarising, the Indigenous Navigator monitors access to education, as
well as availability and access to culturally and linguistically relevant education. It is based on the UNDRIP’s
Articles 14 and 15, and monitors 3 indicators on SDG 4, as well as WCIP’s paragraph 11.35 Therefore, within
the Indigenous Navigator, SDG 4 frames education as a global goal for sustainable development, the
UNDRIP frames Indigenous education as a human right, and the WCIP frames the implementation of both
SDG 4 and human rights supported by states.
24. Idem.
25. “What is the Indigenous Navigator?”, accessed 12 January, 2021, https://indigenousnavigator.org/what-is-the-indigenous-navigator. The Indigenous Navigator
is also directly connected to other international instruments which protect Indigenous Peoples rights, namely, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the Convention against Torture (CAT).
26. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” (New York: United Nations, 2007).
27. Idem.
28. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), “Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (2015), accessed 14 January, 2021, https://
www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_70_1_E.pdf
29. Idem.
30. Idem.
31. “What is the Indigenous Navigator?”, accessed 12 January, 2021, https://indigenousnavigator.org/what-is-the-indigenous-navigator
32. Idem.
33. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), “Outcome document of the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference
on Indigenous Peoples”, 2014, accessed 12 January, 2021, https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/69/2
34. Idem.
35. The Danish Institute for Human Rights, “The Indigenous Navigator Tools Database”, accessed 12 January, 2021, https://navigator.humanrights.dk/the-explo
rer?d%5B834%5D=834&c=All&u=All&it=All&ic=All&ka=All&i=All&s=&s_c=1&s_u=1&s_a=1&s_i=1&s_g=1&s_q=1
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 13Table 1: Synthesis of the three axes upon which the Indigenous Navigator is based, for education
UNDRIP SDG 4 indicators WCIP
Article 14.1. Indigenous Peoples’ right
SDG 4.1.1
to control their educational systems
Proficiency in
reading and
Article 14.2. Indigenous Peoples’ right
mathematics
to access all levels of education as
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR’S Para. 11. Ensuring equal
provided by the state
EDUCATION FRAMEWORK SDG 4.2.2 access to high-quality
Participation education while recognising
Article 14.3. States shall support
in pre-primary Indigenous Peoples’
Indigenous Peoples’ access to
education cultures
education
SDG 4.A.1
Article 15.1. Indigenous Peoples’
Inclusive and safe
right to be culturally and linguistically
schools
represented in education
1.2 WHAT DO THE INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR DATA SAY ABOUT INDIGENOUS
EDUCATION?
Data collection through the Indigenous Navigator tool takes place via two questionnaires distributed to
Indigenous communities and duty bearers assessing national government actions, respectively. The
questionnaires allow stakeholders, including government agents, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples’ own organisations
and communities to gather both qualitative and quantitative data.36 In the community survey, 11 questions
relate to education, while 17 questions in the national survey gather educational data. Up to this date, the
Indigenous Navigator has collected data from 146 questionnaires across communities in 11 countries.37
In education, the Indigenous Navigator has facilitated the collection of data on access to education. The
results from those communities surveyed showed that, in primary education, Peru and Bolivia present
the highest levels of access to primary education, with 90% and about 80% respectively, contrasting
with Cameroon’s achievement of only 30%. Gender-wise, Kenya and Tanzania show that more boys than
girls finish primary education. The situation in secondary education is similar, although the percentage of
Indigenous individuals accessing that level is lower in every case. Finally, enrolment in tertiary education
is below 40% everywhere with the exception of Tanzania, where it reaches 60% for both boys and girls.
The Indigenous Navigator’s data are not only useful to show how the Indigenous communities in the surveys
are not finishing their education, but also provide with level and gender disaggregated data that correspond
to the realities of specific communities that can be then compared with the respective country’s overall
situation. For instance, according to the World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), Peru’s primary
completion rate shows in average that 84% of the country’s poorest completes primary education.38 That
figure indicates that Indigenous Peoples finishing primary education are below the average poorest people
in Peru. Further, in Cameroon, according to the national average, 14% of girls and 18% of boys finish
secondary education, but these percentages are still above the Indigenous Navigator’s data percentages.39
36. Idem.
37. Indigenous Navigator, “Data from community surveys (2017-2020)” (n.d.), unpublished. The countries are: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, Bangladesh,
Cambodia, Nepal, the Philippines, Cameroon, Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania.
38. According to the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for ages 15-24. World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), “Peru”, accessed 14 January,
2021, https://www.education-inequalities.org/countries/peru#?dimension=all&group=all&year=latest
39. According to UNICEF´s 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) for ages 20-29. World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), “Cameroon”,
accessed 14 January, 2021, https://www.education-inequalities.org/countries/cameroon/indicators/comp_upsec_v2#?dimension=all&group=all&age_
group=|comp_upsec_v2&year=|2014
14 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITYTanzania does not appear in the WIDE database,40 so the data retrieved by the Indigenous Navigator are
valuable indicators of Indigenous education in the country.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 below show the percentages of completed primary and secondary education, and
enrolment in tertiary education, by gender, according to the self-perception and self-reporting from the
Indigenous communities that answered the questionnaire, next to the country average.41
FIGURE 1. Percentage of completed primary education of the communities that participated in the
Indigenous Navigator’s survey in comparison with the national average
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20 Girls (IN)
10 Boys (IN)
0 Country average
a ru l a a a a
ivi pa sh di bi ny ni on
l Pe Ne de bo m Ke
a
er
o
Bo la lo nz
g m
Co Ta m
Ban Ca Ca
Notes: The data for the Indigenous Navigator were taken from the community surveys, question T2-V101. The country data were taken from the World
Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), “Primary completion rate”, accessed 14 January, 2021,
https://www.education-inequalities.org/indicators/comp_prim_v2#?sort=mean&dimension=all&group=all&age_group=comp_prim_v2&countries=all
Figure 1: The chart shows that Colombia reports the highest percentage of completed primary education at the
national level according to the WIDE database, but not within the communities that implemented the Indigenous
Navigator’s survey. Bolivia and Peru report results that are more balanced with the national average, followed by
Nepal, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Kenya shows significant inequality in the education of Indigenous girls, while
Cameroon shows a similar gap to that of Colombia in primary education completion between the people in the
survey and the country average, but with lower completion percentages.
40. World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), accessed 14 January, 2021, https://www.education-inequalities.org/; data for Tanzania are not available.
41. Idem.
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 15FIGURE 2. Percentage of completed secondary education of the communities that participated in the
Indigenous Navigator’s survey in comparison with the national average
80
70
60
50
40
Girls (IN)
30
Boys (IN)
20
Country average
10
0
ia u l a a a ia n
liv
r pa sh di bi ny oo
Pe de an
Bo Ne la bo o m Ke nz er
ng am Col Ta am
Ba C C
Notes: The data for the Indigenous Navigator were taken from the community surveys, question T2-V102. The country data were taken from the World
Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), “Upper secondary completion rate”, accessed 14 January, 2021,
https://www.education-inequalities.org/indicators/comp_upsec_v2#?sort=mean&dimension=all&group=all&age_group=comp_upsec_v2&countries=all
Figure 2: The chart presents improvements for Indigenous communities when compared to primary education.
Bolivia and Peru still have the highest percentages of secondary education graduates among the communities that
took the survey, followed by Colombia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Nepal, while Kenya and Tanzania show stark
completion differences between boys and girls. Cameroon’s completion rate is well below the country average.
Interestingly enough, the national average is below the communities’ completion rates in Bolivia and Kenya, and
far below in Cambodia, Bangladesh and Nepal.
FIGURE 3. Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education of the communities that participated in the
Indigenous Navigator’s survey in comparison with the national average
70
60
50
40
30
Women (IN)
20
Men (IN)
10
Country average
0
ia ru al sh di
a
bi
a a ia n
liv Pe p
de ny an oo
Bo Ne la bo lom Ke nz er
ng am Co Ta am
Ba C C
Notes: The data for the Indigenous Navigator were taken from the community surveys, question T2-V103. The country data were taken from the World
Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), “Higher education attendance”, accessed 14 January, 2021,
https://www.education-inequalities.org/indicators/higher_1822#?sort=mean&dimension=all&group=all&age_group=attend_higher_1822&countries=all
Figure 3. Overall, enrolment is lower in all cases, but Tanzania stands out with 60% for both women and men in the
communities that took the Indigenous Navigator’s survey, while Cameroon’s enrolment is non-existent. Bangladesh,
Cambodia and Kenya continue being below their national averages, while the situation in the other cases seems to
be more equal to that of the national mean. The exception is Colombia, where the national average is above 30%,
and that of the communities in the surveys is 20%.
16 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITYThe data on education from the Indigenous Navigator also monitor school facilities, in particular access
to basic services. Table 2 below shows the degree of accessibility of primary school facilities among the
communities that answered the questionnaires. As can be seen, results go from 100% accessibility in
the Philippines, to most schools in Kenya being moderately inaccessible.42 Further, Table 3 displays the
percentages of access to specific facilities: electricity, internet, computers, separate toilets, handwashing,
infrastructure for disabled students, or none of the above. As observed, results vary greatly, with Kenya
and Tanzania having no access to the internet or computers, to the almost absence of very essential needs
like drinking water in Bolivia or Cambodia.43
Table 2: Results of the Indigenous Navigator’s survey question “how accessible are primary school
facilities in your community?”
Highly Moderately
Country Accessible Accessible Inaccessible Inaccessible Highly Inaccessible
Bangladesh 12 36 32 4 16
Bolivia 50 22 22 6 0
Cambodia 0 27 45 27 0
Cameroon 34 29 14 11 11
Colombia 50 0 0 25 25
Kenya 0 0 67 33 0
Nepal 30 10 60 0 0
Peru 29 47 24 0 0
Philippines 100 0 0 0 0
Suriname 58 33 0 0 8
Tanzania 0 0 0 100 0
TOTAL 29 27 25 12 7
Note: Data correspond to the percentage of communities reporting different levels of accessibility by country. Table created using question T2-V107
Table 2. In comparison with the national average, 56% of the communities that answered the question reported
that facilities are highly accessible or accessible. Kenya and Tanzania show the greatest degree of inaccessibility,
while Peru and Bolivia display the highest degrees of accessibility. Once again, Colombia shows different results
among communities.
42. Indigenous Navigator, “Data from community surveys (2017-2020)” (n.d.), unpublished.
43. Idem.
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 17Table 3: Access per facilities in educational establishments according to the Indigenous Navigator’s survey results
Internet Computer Handicap Separate Handwashing Drinking None of
Country Electricity (Teaching) (Teaching) infrastructure toilets facilities water those
Bangladesh 36 0 4 8 48 64 88 4
Bolivia 94 12 18 12 35 18 6 0
Cambodia 18 9 0 9 9 27 18 64
Colombia 50 50 25 50 25 25 25 50
Kenya 100 0 0 0 83 0 17 0
Nepal 50 0 30 0 10 50 90 0
Peru 88 13 0 0 75 75 25 13
Philippines 50 0 50 0 50 100 50 0
Suriname 60 40 20 0 80 40 40 20
Tanzania 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0
TOTAL 55 9 11 8 45 41 44 13
Note: Data correspond to the percentage of communities reporting access to facilities. Table created using question T2-V108
Table 3. Notably in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Tanzania, lack of electricity is considerably higher than for other
countries. Other issues are access to the internet and computers in most countries, as well as infrastructure
for disabled students. On the other hand, separate toilets, handwashing facilities and drinking water present
discrepancies, but percentages tend to be higher. Still, in Cambodia and Colombia, 65% and 50% of the
communities that answered the questionnaires say they do not have access to any of the facilities mentioned.
1.3 HOW DOES THE INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR TRANSFORM THE DATA
COLLECTED INTO ACTION?
One of the takeaways from the questionnaire results is that the reality of Indigenous Peoples varies greatly.
With these varied contexts in mind, in 2019, the Indigenous Navigator began offering the possibility to
carry out small scale pilot projects from which Indigenous communities benefit, based on the needs
identified by communities themselves through the questionnaires. These projects operate through a small
grants facility, that is, a fund managed in such a flexible way as to respond to Indigenous needs as they
express them.44 The Indigenous Navigator’s small grants facility is financed by the European Commission
and administered by IWGIA,45 but the management of the projects that receive funding follows a bottom-
up structure and is cemented by direct partnerships with communities and national partners.46 More
specifically, the small grants facility supports original, pilot projects that present innovative solutions to
economic and social issues in order to enhance equality, justice and the political participation of Indigenous
communities;47 these pilot projects seek to become examples of further policy implementation with help
from other state and non-state actors.48 As the introduction mentions, so far there have been 57 approved
44. IWGIA, “Focus Areas – Cross-cutting methodologies”, accessed 25 April, 2021, https://www.iwgia.org/en/focus
45. Personal communications with IWGIA (2020).
46. IWGIA, “Focus Areas – Cross-cutting methodologies”, accessed 25 April, 2021, https://www.iwgia.org/en/focus
47. Indigenous Navigator, “Small Grants Scheme - Guidelines for project proposals” (n.d.), unpublished.
48. Idem.
18 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITYcommunity-led pilot projects49 targeting the priorities identified by Indigenous communities through the
Indigenous Navigator´s monitoring tools: legal recognition; health and wellbeing; education, language and
culture; income, production and food sovereignty; governance, leadership, and institutions; land tenure,
environmental protection and access to natural resources; and empowerment of women and youth.50 The
grants, which range between 10,000 and 60,000 Euro, contribute directly to ensuring that community-led
projects can be implemented.51
When applying for a grant to finance a pilot project, organisations are required to indicate the SDGs and
Indigenous peoples’ rights that the initiative addresses.52 That process ensures that the approved pilot
projects operate under the Indigenous Navigator framework. The Indigenous Navigator’s partners play an
essential role in relation to the administration of the grants as well. These partners manage the grants and
are able to support Indigenous communities and other related organisations at the national and local
levels –enhancing their capacity when necessary.53 In addition, the small grants have the option to re-
allocate previous or supplementary budgets to expand the scope of the project during the implementation
phase if necessary. This feature has proved extremely useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many
communities had the flexibility to adjust their planned initiatives to face other more impending needs.54
Education usually emerges at the crossroads of several priorities in the small grants pilot project proposals,
as it is linked to other SDGs such as SDG 3 on wellbeing, SDG 5 on gender equality, or SDG 8 on decent
work and sustainable growth.55 By the same token, education within the small grants facility often goes
hand in hand with language and culture, a connection also often made in the UNDRIP. Because education
is at the centre of several goals and rights, it is a pivotal priority within the pilot projects.
So far, the small grants facility has financed 14 education or education-related projects that address five
Indigenous priorities, summarized in Table 4.56 The projects will be presented in detail in the next part.
49. Ena Alvarado Madsen and David Nathaniel Berger, Implementing the Indigenous Navigator: Experiences Around the Globe (Copenhagen, DK: International
Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2020), accessed 26 October, 2020, https://nav.indigenousnavigator.com/images/documents-english/Reports/
Reports2020/Implemeting_the_indigenous_navigator.pdf
50. Indigenous Navigator, “Small Grants Scheme - Guidelines for project proposals” (n.d.), unpublished.
51. Idem.
52. Indigenous Navigator, “Grant proposal template” (n.d.), unpublished.
53. Personal communications with IWGIA (2020).
54. The impact of COVID-19 on indigenous communities: Insights from the Indigenous Navigator (The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2020), accessed 7 February, 2021, https://indigenousnavigator.org/sites/indigenousnavigator.org/files/
media/document/The_impact_of_COVID-19_on_indigenous_communities_-_Insights_from_the_Indigenous_Navigator.pdf
55. “Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4)”, accessed 18 January, 2021, Sdg4education2030.org/the-goal
56. Indigenous Navigator, “Small Grants Scheme - Guidelines for project proposals” (n.d.), unpublished.
INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITY 19Table 4: Matrix of the Indigenous Navigator’s small grants facility pilot projects related to education with the small grants
facility’s Indigenous priorities in education
Pilot project by area and Priority
country
Address and Develop bilingual Update the skills Increase Engage in
minimise obstacles and intercultural and knowledge intergenerational dialogue with
in Indigenous teaching materials of Indigenous knowledge governments for
communities’ access and methods based teachers to transfer from recognition and
to quality primary on Indigenous provide adequate Indigenous elders use of Indigenous
and secondary knowledge, practices and engaging to youth languages as
education as well and technologies intercultural official languages
as adult literacy for use in schools education in schools and
programmes without and in community other public
discrimination training institutions
Africa
Improving the citizenship of – – – –
Indigenous forest peoples
(Cameroon)
Supplementary Budgets - E-learning – – – –
in Response to COVID-19 (Kenya)
Access to safe and clean water and – – – –
improvement of school facilities in
Terrat (Tanzania)
Asia
Ensuring inclusive quality education – –
and revitalisation and integration
of Indigenous Hajong language and
culture in Durgapur, Nekrotona
(Bangladesh)
Language, Education and – – –
Cultural Development for the
Khasi Indigenous Community in
Moulvibazar (Bangladesh)
Empowering Indigenous men and – – – –
women youth in preserving and
developing natural resources in
order to improve their livelihoods
and management system (Cambodia)
Promoting Inclusive Development – – – –
of Chhantyal Indigenous Peoples
(Nepal)
Promoting Indigenous peoples’ rights – – – –
and Social Inclusion of the Magar
Community in Western Nepal
Our Language, Our Identity – – -
(Philippines)
Latin America
Revalorisation and practice of the – – –
native language among the youth
of Jach’a Marka Tapacarí Cóndor
Apacheta (Bolivia)
Revitalisation and vitalisation of – –
the Bésiro Language of the Monkox
Nation of Lomerío (Bolivia)
Intercultural academy for Wampis – – – –
leaders “Sharian” (Peru)
Preservation and transfer of the – – –
language & traditional knowledge
and practice of the Arowak people in
Hollandse Kamp (Suriname)
Preservation and transfer of the – – –
language of the Arowak people in
Marijke Dorp (Suriname)
Table 4. The pilot projects appear alphabetically according to their country and are divided by geographic area. Thanks to the matrix, the priorities of the
Indigenous communities where the pilot projects were developed unveil that priorities correspond to different geopolitical circumstances.
20 INDIGENOUS NAVIGATOR: INNOVATING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION THROUGH THE SMALL GRANTS FACILITYTrends
Effects of COVID-19 on Indigenous education and community responses
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about additional challenges to Indigenous Peoples’
education. One of the greatest difficulties to overcome was the digital divide, in particular internet
access but, for some Indigenous communities, the issue began with electricity access. As seen
in Table 2, internet circumstances in schools vary across the Indigenous communities that took
part in the Indigenous Navigator’s survey. During the pandemic and because of school closures,
having little or no access to the Internet made it impossible for children to log on to the national
education platforms that many governments offered.57 At the tertiary level, many students were
compelled to return to their communities when lockdowns began because they could not afford
university life.58 In Kenya, as will be explored in the following section, the Indigenous Navigator’s
small grant facility could be adapted to address the lack of connectivity in Maji Moto so students
could prepare for nationally standardised exams.59 In other cases, Indigenous Peoples proved to be
resilient and resourceful on their own. That was the case of Bolivia, where the political crisis that
the country experienced between 2019 and 2020 aggravated the provision of goods by the state,
to the extent that education stopped being offered and all students were said to pass the school
year automatically. Aware of the loss of knowledge caused by such measures, some teachers in
the communities where the Indigenous Navigator works went from home to home handing in and
picking up study booklets and homework.60 In sum, the experiences of Indigenous Peoples during
the COVID-19 pandemic showed that, while education remains a priority to them, support in times
of crisis coming from initiatives such as the Indigenous Navigator offer a helping hand, which in
times of crisis can make a considerable difference for the uninterrupted provision of education and
the pursuit of SDG 4.
57. ILEPA, interview, 5 August, 2020; Kapaeeng Foundation, interview, 6 August, 2020.
58. ONIC, interview, 19 August 2020; Tebtebba Foundation, interview, 28 August, 2020.
59. ILEPA and Maji Moto Group Ranch, “Supplementary Budgets - E-learning in Response to COVID-19” (2020), unpublished.
60. CEJIS, interview, 7 August, 2020.
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